The Michigan basketball regular season is in the books. Now, it's time to hunt the ultimate prize, an NCAA championship.
Sure, the Wolverines have their sights set on winning the Big Ten tournament first. Dusty May led Michigan basketball to the Big Ten tournament title last season, and if U-M pulled it off, it would be the first time it swept the regular season and tournament titles in the Big Ten.
We all know this team will be defined by what happens in the NCAA tournament. Michigan will be a No. 1 seed, and maybe its chief rival for the title won't be 100 percent.
Caleb Foster, one of the best defensive guards in the country and a key starter for the Duke Blue Devils, left the North Carolina game on Saturday due to injury. It turns out, according to Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, that Foster suffered a broken right foot. He will be out "indefinitely."
Scheyer didn't rule out a return, maybe if the Blue Devils reach the Final Four. 6-foot-11 big man, Patrick Ngongba is also dealing with a foot injury and will be held out of this week's ACC tournament.
Michigan is an even stronger national title favorite after Duke injury update
Earlier this week, this caused a shift in the odds. The Wolverines became the betting favorite to win the college basketball national championship at +320 compared to +340 for Duke. Now, with the latest update, Michigan's odds have ticked up further to +300.
Beyond Duke's injury woes, we also saw Yaxel Lendeborg take his game to another level against Michigan State, hitting five 3-pointers on his way to 27 points. If the now Big Ten Player of the Year shoots like that, there isn't a college basketball team that can beat the Wolverines.
Not even a healthy Duke.